My life and times in the cultural desert of America! In 1990 I had one of those moments all New Yorkers experience. My commute to work had just taken 4 hours. It was a cold, rainy, generally blah day, and the phone rang! The head hunter on the other end promised the land of milk and honey. Well we all know what P. T. Barnum said.

My Blogg on TV.com

Btjunkie

Subscribe to this Blog

About Me

Well it just does not pay to complain because frankly, NO ONE CARES! I was raised in New York, and made the biggest mistake of my life in 1990 by moving to Indiana. Well, That's enough about me at this time.

My Family

Sunday, September 23, 2007

A Strange Journey

Today is September 23rd 2007. This is the first day of fall and the temps are going to be in the high 80’s. This has been a very strange year for me so far. My wife died in April, and I had to stop work in March because of medical problems.

Since March my life has been in a downward spiral that is an amazing tail of bureaucratic red tape, and extreme generosity. If not for the generosity of friends I would have been out on the street by the end of March.

I have found this simple truth in America today. If you are rich, a child, an illegal immigrant, or born into the welfare system, you are protected and have your advocates. If you are working class from working poor to upper middle class and you fall on hard times you are in serious trouble. The most common responses I received to my calls for help were "I would love to help you, but there is nothing I can do." Also, on this side of the equation is the fact that in Fort Wayne / Indiana, there is no central contact for aid. You must deal with dozens of agencies, all with their own policies and paperwork, much of it duplicate. I also found that if you have limited mobility it is an added burden. Most of the government agencies will not come to you, and they will not tell you that a phone interview is allowable unless you really press them. Additionally I cannot figure out for the life of me the usefulness of the Trustee offices. Their paperwork is staggering, the requirements are bizarre, and its frankly easier to get blood from a stone.

The other side of this equation if the generosity of friends, and neighbors. At one point a friend cosigned a loan without question. Friends and neighbors ran errands, brought in food, and ultimately their intercession saved my life.

I was one of the fortunate, I am now getting the care I need, in a facility with some amazing people. There are many others out there who are not getting the help they need. Fort Wayne city council is willing to fund all kinds of questionable development projects, but you never hear them talk about funding more housing for Fort Wayne Housing Authority, you never hear them talk about increasing and simplifying the Trustee office support programs, and you Never hear them talk about aid for senior citizens. I guess we are not a Politically Correct enough group.